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Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Frighten Brighton

I'm looking forward to Frighten Brighton this Saturday. Organised by the indefatigable Cyberschizoid and Scare Sarah this event looks to be a lot of fun. As well as a market of horror related merchandise and author book signings, we are promised a free screening of Frankenstein and The Monster From Hell (1973) in the afternoon (2pm) and in the evening a double bill of HG Lewis's The Gore-Gore Girls and the classic Re-Animator (1985) (5pm - £6 admission)

Taking place in the Rock Inn in Brighton, Cyberschizoid is also laying on a horror quiz in between the screenings in the evening. I may not be sober by then.

5 comments:

Jon, I wish I was going with you. I wonder have they secured an uncut print of Frankenstein and The Monster From Hell - that would be quite a coup. It's quite a cool line up of films I must, a really diverse and imaginative program. I'd love to browse some horor merch as well. Will you be posting about the night ? Maybe some pics ?

Yeah, it should be fun. I'll take a camera with me. Not sure about the print of Frankenstein. It's in a pub, so am assuming it will be projected from DVD or an on-line source - would the uncut print be a possibility, do you think?

Yep, I guessed would be a digital projection, which is totally fine, and yes it's entirely possible they could have an uncut Monster From Hell - an excellent English-friendly German DVD surfaced a few years with a fully uncut print, but now that disc is OOP and is quite a prize among Hammer scholars. I remember seeing that disc reported on a Hammer thread but I put it on the long-finger and never picked it up.

Thumbs up!

Reviews of Subversive Horror Cinema

"Never less than enjoyable and provocative...an impressive, well written and incisive look at genre theory. It is certain to make you look at some movies afresh... For genre fans looking for some challenging and substantial criticism to get their teeth into, it is highly recommended." - STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING

"A fascinating and thought-provoking book, not only from a film history viewpoint, but as a work of social record too... such analysis is not often covered in today's media. If you are looking for an intelligent, well written and insightful read, Subversive Horror Cinema is highly recommended." - STARBURST

"This thoroughly detailed and enjoyably written book is an important addition to the continually expanding list of studies devoted to genre film theory." - EXQUISITE TERROR

"The research is thorough. The organization is brilliantly methodical. The writing is precise, almost surgical. If you’re a serious horror fan, you need to read this book." - MOVIES MADE ME (JOSEPH MADDREY)

This is the companion blog to my book, Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from Frankenstein to the Present, published in Spring 2014 by McFarland & Co.

The horror cycle flourishes in times of national trauma such as the Great Depression, the Cold War, the Vietnam era and post 9/11; Subversive Horror Cinema argues that a succession of film-makers, from James Whale and Tod Browning onwards, have used the horror genre – and the shock value it affords - to challenge dominant ideologies during these times.

Subversive Horror Cinema traces a line of thematic development in the films themselves - and in the shared concerns of producers and directors as varied as George Romero, Pete Walker, Michael Reeves, Herman Cohen, Wes Craven and Brian Yuzna - leading to the current cycle of apocalyptic horror films reflecting post 9/11 anxieties and the recent economic recession.